Theology and Social Theory: Beyond Secular Reason

"In this acclaimed book, John Milbank suggests that both enterprises are compromised by the theological and anti-theological assumptions built into the social sciences themselves." This new edition of Theology and Social Theory brings John Milbank's classic work fully into line with his most recent views and is laid out in an easier-to-read format. It features a…
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Paperback

(Older Edition)

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Overview

"In this acclaimed book, John Milbank suggests that both enterprises are compromised by the theological and anti-theological assumptions built into the social sciences themselves." This new edition of Theology and Social Theory brings John Milbank's classic work fully into line with his most recent views and is laid out in an easier-to-read format. It features a substantial new preface in which Milbank answers his critics lay defending and further elaborating his metahistorical vision.

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Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Milbank's work is a tour de force of systematic theology. It would be churlish not to acknowledge its provocation and brilliance." Times Higher Education Supplement

"The thesis is relatively simple, its orchestration is stunning in scope as well as in harmonies." Modern Theology

"John Milbank's sprawling, ambitious and intellectually demanding book is in a class of its own." Studies in Christian Ethics

"John Milbank has written a masterful review of the development of modern social thought that at the same time offers a criticism of its dominant paradigms and suggests inherent limits on its accomplishments." Journal of Religion

"It is of a remarkable intensity and intellectual scope, it is a book of the highest importance for the ongoing debate between Christianity and modernity." Reinhard Hutter, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

What People are saying about this

"Milbank's work is a tour de force of systematic theology. It would be churlish not to acknowledge its provocation and brilliance." Times Higher Education Supplement

"The thesis is relatively simple, its orchestration is stunning in scope as well as in harmonies." Modern Theology

"John Milbank’s sprawling, ambitious and intellectually demanding book is in a class of its own." Studies in Christian Ethics

"John Milbank has written a masterful review of the development of modern social thought that at the same time offers a criticism of its dominant paradigms and suggests inherent limits on its accomplishments." Journal of Religion

Praise for the Second Edition

“Theology and Social Theory has proven to be a bombshell… We are, therefore, extremely fortunate to have this second edition with Milbank’s dazzling new ‘Preface’. Re-reading this book is always a pleasure, because it is filled with surprises that force thought.” Stanley Hauerwas, Duke University

"When the first edition was published the reaction was one of shock. Now, fifteen years on, the shock has worn off; more and more people are questioning the universal competency of secular reason. But this make all the more important the publication of this second edition. Milbank develops an alternative which has been steadily developing and enriching in the intervening years." Charles Taylor, McGill University

"[Theology and Social Theory] remains a dense, challenging and elusive masterpiece of a book, which has lost none of its power to intrigue and repel in equal measure." Times Literary Supplement, Sept 2006

"This second edition is a vital aid to any reader who wishes to understand more fully how Theology and Social Theory relates to Milbank's continued publications and radically orthodox sensibilities."Theological Book Review

"An influential and important book … instructive for students in that it analyses and challenges contemporary assumptions about society and religion." Teaching Theology & Religion